Triple Talaq: Supreme Court Issues Notice to Central Government

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The hon’ble Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Minority Affairs seeking response on a plea filed by woman belonging to Muslim community. She filed the petition with an aim to put an end to discrimination on the basis of sex, a practice prevalent among the minority community. The bench consisted of Justice A R Dave and A K Goel who also asked the National Commission for Women to submit suggestions and response regarding the issue.

The petition was filed by Shayara Bano who questioned the validity of triple ‘talaq’, ‘nikah halal’ and polygamy which was the practice among Muslims. She also asked the court to declare it as unconstitutional as it violates fundamental right to equality as guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution and many other provisions of the Constitution. In triple talaq, Muslim men can get divorced from his Muslim wife by pronouncing ‘talaq’ three times. The Ninkah halal permits the Muslim man to accept his divorced wife once again, if he had divorced her when he was drunken. But to apply this rule, the wife should be remarried and also free from marital ties of the second marriage through divorce.

The Court adjourned the case to March 28 before hearing the submission of respondent, Rizwan who married Shayara on April 11, 2002 and subsequently divorced her on October 10, 2015 by triple talaq. It was also submitted on behalf of the petitioner that Muslim women are getting divorced through social networking sites these days. The counsel for the petitioner also highlighted the need to change Muslim laws and pointed out the importance of relying on international legal documents to interpret a provision. It was further submitted that the existing practices were not harmonious with the modern concepts and gender equality, it is also not an essential part of the believes of Muslim community. Hence the petitioner asked the court to quash the provisions related with triple talaq.